Second Overtime: Homer D. Sayson
By Homer D. Sayson
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 18 Sep 2018
CHICAGO -- Majority of the sportswriters who covered last Saturday night's mega fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, most of them seasoned by years of covering the sweet science, scored either a draw or a narrow win for Gennady Golovkin.
But the official scorecards saw it differently, a majority decision for Canelo Alvarez after Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld gave the nod to the Mexican brawler via an identical 115-113 tally, while Glenn Feldman recorded a 114-114 push.
With the opinion makers on his side, plus the fact that he did more work ----- 879 total punches thrown against Canelo's 622 ---- Golvkin sure had plenty of reasons to howl and lament the fact that Sin City, which had hatched so many wrong decisions in its checkered past, has robbed him yet again after that silly draw verdict last September.
But GGG didn't shed tears of injustice. Nor did he make the media rounds looking for sympathetic figures to fight the unrighteous evil of unfair scoring. The former undisputed middleweight champion of the world simply took his licks like a man.
Apparently, the tough Kazakh can take a hit just as well as he can throw it.
The pre-rematch knack on GGG was that he was old, past his devastating prime. But to paraphrase Mark Twain, the talks of Golovkin's demise are "greatly exaggerated."
Sure, some of Gennady's 36 years have shown, especially in the middle rounds when he appeared short of breath and his legs looked heavy, but Golovkin's place as an elite fighter remains solid. His jabs can still cause whiplash while his power punches can still induce a coma.
It just wasn't his night. In the judges eyes.
Que sera sera.
Golovkin's trainer, Abel Sanchez, who hasn't shied away from expressing his disdain towards Alvarez, was just at peace with the decision. When I spoke to him briefly after the post-fight press conference, Abel sound like a man resigned to his fate, harboring no ill will. What a total class act.
In fairness to Alvarez, he fought a brave fight. Scorned for running in the first fight, dancing away from a bloody brawl, Canelo stood in front of GGG in this contentious rematch, impervious to the peril that came his way, testing the boundaries of pain for 12 brutal rounds.
Righty or wrongly. he earned that decision. It wasn't given to him.
PARTY OF THE YEAR. After post-fight press conference I hurried my way via Uber to North Las Vegas where an eating orgy and a drinking marathon went unabated until the small, wee hours of Sunday morning.
Newly-weds P.J. Cabigon and his adorable wife, Angelie Mae Corona-Cabigon, hosted a watch party for the GGG-Canelo 2. Apparently, the young couple's appetite for each other's love is as hearty as their desire for fistic violence.
There were about 75 guests and the verdict was unanimous. As Miley Cyrus would say it was a "Party in the U.S.A.."
The main entree' was a dead pig, seasoned Bisdak style and roasted to golden brown perfection. There was also a mixed fare of barbecued pork and chicken. For the non-carnivores, shrimp and fish were aplenty. There was enough food to feed end the world's hunger problem.
Most importantly, the Prince Julius offered more alcohol than your neighborhood liquor store.
The women, led by P.J.'s doting mom, Nieva, sipped and chatted with their harmless wine. They also passionately caressed the mahjong tiles. The young dudes emptied the beer bottles with wild abandon, while the older dudes like me tackled the hard liquor, including Tequila at sunrise.
I can't wait to go back to Las Vegas. Not necessarily for GGG-Canelo 3. I want to be invited to another Cabigon shindig.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Homer D. Sayson.
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